For many people, including myself, going to the gym or being active is a part of everyday life. People go to the gym for many reasons, whether to better their mental state and grow, change their physical appearance or make themselves feel good and live a healthy lifestyle.
There is no inherent reason for someone to start and stay going to the gym, and I don’t think anybody should ever be forced to, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by a great margin. Working out is not solely beneficial to yourself now, but over time, it can be seen as an investment in your future self.
Working out increases dopamine levels in your brain, which can lead to a relief of depression and an increase in your morale overall. On the other side, many people see the gym as intimidating or embarrassing when you first start.
I saw it the same way. I was always active as a child, but I was never in the greatest shape. I started going to the gym when Planet Fitness had its free membership for high school students during the summer. I dreaded it at first. Like many people, I was insecure and out of shape, and thought that the gym was going to be where I got judged the most and people would be staring at me.
That never happened. The more I was in the gym and the more comfortable I got, the more I realized nobody cared about you or what you were doing. The majority of them have or experienced similar feelings, and are too focused on themselves to care about how the person next to them looks while doing an exercise. Sometimes, being uncomfortable and out of your element can be great, and I think the gym is a perfect example of that.
While I, as a male, can’t share the experience from the female point of view, I can see how that could be different, and it’s understandable.
The main arguments I see for people against the gym or people who say they dislike gym culture may be using stereotypes and stigmas to keep them away. Many people will use time and cost as a reason not to go to the gym. This could be valid in some cases, but for the case of a Ferris State student, I think there is always a way around it.
Yes, people have filled schedules and work jobs while also being in school, but I think in most situations, this can be combatted. The Student Recreation Center here at Ferris is open Monday to Thursday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., giving a wide range of time for someone to work out.
Working out and staying active does not mean you have to spend two hours in the gym working on various muscle groups. It can just mean that you took a quick 30-minute walk or completed your choice of workout.
While the dieting, supplements and equipment portion of the gym tend to get relatively pricey, the barebones participation side will never be expensive, especially for a Ferris State student.
Students automatically gain access to not just the Recreation Center, but the racquet center on campus, giving students two free options for staying active. If you dislike the recreation centers and you have the means for it, we also have Planet Fitness in Big Rapids, where memberships are $15 a month.
I believe the best part about going to the gym every day is that there is no cut-and-dry way of doing it. Every day can be different if you want it to be. Everybody has a different journey, and there will never be one simplistic way to do anything. Do what makes you feel good and do what makes you see results in yourself.